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July 1, 2021 | AppenMedia.com | An Appen Media Group Publication | Ser ving the community since 1976
Dunwoody freestyler swims his way onto Olympic team By CATHY COBBS newsroom@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — Nobody thought Dunwoody’s Brooks Curry could swim his way onto the U.S. Olympic team. But he did. Brooks swam the fourth fastest time in the 100-meter freestyle finals to secure a position on the 4x100-meter men’s relay team that will represent the United States in Tokyo come July. “I think if you looked around the pool that day (at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska), there was nobody who thought that Brooks had a chance, except maybe Brooks and me,” Steve Mellor, his coach at Louisiana State University, said. Brooks, 20, who grew up in Dunwoody Club Forest and attended Vanderlyn Elementary and Peachtree Charter Middle School, had been a standout during his freshman and sophomore years at LSU, but few thought he had a chance to make the elite team out of the 65 or so invited swimmers that competed last week for the coveted slots. He was ranked 15th in the 100-meter freestyle coming into the trials, but in the preliminary round, his time dropped to 48.23, leading to the finals, where he swam the best race of his life. His time, a personal best clocked at 48.19, earned him a spot on the team, joining veteran Caeleb Dressel, 24, Zach Apple, 24, and Blake Peroni, 25, as the
See CURRY, Page 16
PHOTOS BY: CATHY COBBS/APPEN MEDIA
Sign Greeters supplied a giant sign for a celebration honoring D.T. Measells on his 100th birthday Sunday.
Dunwoody celebrates fighter pilot’s 100th birthday — with a twist By CATHY COBBS newsroom@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — When his father-inlaw traveled to Dunwoody to celebrate his 100th birthday, John McCarren wanted to arrange a special celebration full of surprises. He achieved that and more — including one surprise that nobody saw coming. McCarren a 25-year Dunwoody resident, began sending communications in February using, including Facebook groups in Dunwoody, asking for people to send birthday cards to his father-inlaw, D.T. Measells, to commemorate his century of life. The goal was to collect 1,000 letters to present to Measells when he and his wife, Imogene, visited the city to celebrate the occasion. And the internet responded with, at
last count, 1,047 letters from as far away as England, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii. Sign Greeters also donated a sign commemorating Measells’ birthday, and all four of his children, Cheryl Backstrom, Terri McCarren, Cindy Camp and Mike Measells, and their families came together for a birthday weekend celebration. But that wasn’t enough. City Councilwoman Pam Tallmadge found out about McCarren’s efforts and offered to take it up a notch. “I know John through his dog-walking business, and when he said he was trying to get 1,000 cards sent to D.T., I said, ‘I can help with that,’” Tallmadge said. “I sent out some messages to my neighborhood group and let the city know what was happening.” That evolved into a plan to have a special police/fire drive-by on Sunday to
D.T. Measells, with his wife, Imogene, take in the parade of well-wishers Saturday. honor the World War II veteran. The surprise was set for at 10 a.m. Mayor Lynn Deutsch planned to give Measells a key to the city as well.
See MEASELLS, Page 3